Chapter 111: A slap in the face, the restraining force of justice!
"I'm a pirate!"
Shanks's muttering was heard by Tsugikoku Yoshiichi, who was repairing the roof. He lowered his head slightly to glance at Shanks, then shouted to Buggy who was not far away:
"Hey, Bucky, come up with some nails."
As he spoke, the two fists holding the nails slowly floated to the side of Tsugikuni Yoriichi.
I have to say that Buggy's devil fruit ability is quite useful at times.
Yoriichi took the nail from Buggy's hand and asked Shanks below:
"Shanks, what do you think pirates should do?"
"From the tone of your voice, I can tell you're quite fascinated by pirates. Is it because you're a pirate yourself? Are you proud of your... profession?"
"As a marine, your words make me very uncomfortable."
As Ji Guoyuan spoke, he hammered nails into the wooden board.
When some of the marines working below heard this, they all looked at Shanks with complicated emotions in their eyes.
The navy naturally hates pirates. The vast majority of Kuzan's crew are new recruits, all young men under the age of thirty.
These sailors have not yet experienced the baptism of "reality" and have the purest yearning for the navy.
And he also has the purest hatred for pirates.
Shanks had always considered himself a pirate, and was already disliked by the navy. However, the navy felt mixed emotions when they saw that even a child like Shanks was proud of being a pirate.
"Pirates are the freest creatures on this ocean."
"I want to be like Captain Roger and become the freest person on this ocean!"
When Shanks mentioned the word "freedom", his eyes were full of brilliance. However, before Tsugakuin could respond, Buggy, who was not far away, spitted disdainfully and interrupted:
"Freedom and all that..."
"Shanks, you really are so naive!"
"Pirates are all about treasure hunting!"
"Treasure is the only thing pirates should pursue!"
"This is a man's romance!"
Buggy and Shanks seemed unaware of their current situation and talked about freedom and treasure hunting in front of the navy.
He didn't notice at all that the eyes of some of the surrounding navy men had changed when they looked at them.
"Freedom..."
"The word freedom really is convenient!"
"As long as it's for freedom, it doesn't matter what you do."
"Even if it's your freedom, does it interfere with the freedom of others?"
Tsugikoku Yoshiichi just turned his head and looked at Shanks, then turned his head away and shook his head while busying himself with the things at hand.
The marines below heard what Tsugikoku Yoshiichi said and nodded, glaring at Shanks. One of the more aggressive young marines even cursed directly at Shanks:
"Damn pirates, isn't everything you do just for money and women? It's nothing more than venting your uncontrollable animal desires. Why bother waving the banner of freedom?!"
"Pirates! Damn them all!"
Hearing the young navy's angry curse, Shanks did not get angry. Instead, he nodded seriously and did not deny it. He said directly:
"There are pirates like that, but Captain Roger, I, and my companions on the ship have never done such a thing."
"We pirates at least have the guts to admit our actions, but what about you?"
"Aren't you, the navy, also hiding under the banner of 'justice' and doing what you want?"
"It's just that you've vented your animal desires on the pirates. Some of the navy's actions are even more excessive than the pirates', right?"
"Whether it's the desire to kill or the desire to destroy, can the navy hiding under the banner of justice really be much better than pirates?"
The young Shanks had already witnessed the darkness of the world during his years of sailing around the world with Roger. In terms of experience, these young marines were far from being able to compare with the young Shanks.
Faced with Shanks's question, the navy officers could only angrily yell at Shanks, saying "You are talking nonsense", but Shanks simply sneered at these young and inexperienced navy officers, ignored them, and looked up at Yoriichi Tsugikuni who was repairing the roof.
"What do you think? Colonel Tsugikoku Yoshiichi!"
"If it's you, you should understand what I'm saying, right?!"
"Or is it that the captain of the Marine Headquarters is just like these ignorant ordinary marines, foolishly believing that the Navy is absolutely righteous?!"
Facing Shanks' question, Tsugumi Kunizu showed no sign of stopping his movements. He continued repairing the roof while replying:
“Individuals are simple, organizations are complex.”
"People who join the navy must have various purposes, such as power, strength, maintaining world peace and tranquility, protecting those around them, etc."
"These goals cannot be said to be good or bad, but the banner of justice can often restrain some people's personal ambitions."
"Justice is heavy; it means responsibility, standing, and restraint."
"But...pirates are different."
"The freedom you believe in is actually expanding indulgence and desire."
"Humans need to be restrained through morality, responsibility, and strict laws. Humans who indulge their desires without restraint are no different from ghosts."
"And the ghosts need to be eliminated."
"We in the navy are just clearing out the demons."
Tsugikoku Yuichi hammered the nails into the wooden board, and then he turned to Shanks and said gently with a smile:
"The world can be without pirates, but it cannot be without the navy."
"The reason you can still stand here and chat with me is precisely because you are not a ghost, that's all."
"Send up some planks."
Tsugikoku Yoriichi was "discussing" with Shanks one second, and then he changed the subject and gave an order the next. Shanks, upon hearing this, skillfully grabbed a piece of wood and threw it at him, then pursed his lips and frowned, thinking about how to refute Tsugikoku Yoriichi's words.
At this moment, the street not far away suddenly became noisy, and several arrogant shouts came from the street.
"Get out of the way! Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"
As they were talking, a team of navy men walked across the street with a reckless pace and slowly came towards this side. These navy men had a fierce aura, which was completely different from the temperament of the marines under Kuzan. Moreover, each of these navy men was disheveled, with their hats tilted on one side. Some of them had a very strong smell of alcohol on them, and they walked crookedly, looking like they had a hangover.
On the way to this place, several residents who were carrying things accidentally blocked their way and were easily pushed away by the sailors. A sailor who was drunk even kicked a passerby and cursed at him, saying dirty words that needed to be censored.
Shanks noticed the movement over there. Seeing this scene, he looked up with amusement and looked at Tsugikoku Yoriichi, mockingly saying:
"The constraints of justice are truly powerful!"
(End of this chapter)
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